


Bleak December

by Tosun



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Violence, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-04-16 20:13:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4638705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tosun/pseuds/Tosun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They thought that they would be together forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bleak December

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are appreciated! Please leave a comment!

When the outbreak started, it happened in Gangnam. 

They were all been in the practice room, working on the newest dance to their comeback that Soonyoung had carefully prepared. Everything was going well, and it had been fun. Earlier, Seokmin was messing around with Seungkwan and everyone was laughing and happy. 

"Sup," Vernon said in English, giving a broad smile to Seokmin when he finished bothering Seungkwan. Vernon laughed and leaned against Seokmin, feeling the older boy's arm go around his shoulder.

"Hey man." Seokmin greeted, his English sounding fairly well because of his practicing. 

In response, Vernon just cackled and playfully pushed him.

"So," Soonyoung started as he glanced around the room. "Does everyone understand the dance now?"

Chan, the youngest member and dance enthusiast in the group, started clapping happily.

"I love it!" he announced, "You did so well with the choreography."

Soonyoung grinned and patted Chan's head before looking to the eldest member in the group, Seungcheol.

"We need a little more practice but overall, it was great!" Seungcheol said with a nod of approval, his smile lighting up the studio.

Jeonghan was tired out from the dancing. They had been at it all morning with no breaks, but now they were finally done for the rest of the day. Their schedule now was to start composing and learning lyrics along with vocal coaching in the evening. 

Jeonghan turned his head when he heard someone shuffling over to him. It was Jisoo, and he was out of breath and slightly sweaty because of the practice that day. He returned Jisoo's smile with one of his own, chuckling softly.

Just then, Seungkwan came wandering over before wrapping his arms around Jeonghan with a sleepy whine.

"Jeonghan," he murmured in Jeonghan's chest, looking up. "Can you make me some coffee?

Seungkwan loved drinking coffee after dance practice because it helped re-energize and wake him up. He sometimes went to Mingyu for coffee, but Jeonghan was happy that he mainly went to him. Everyone in the group knew that Jeonghan made the absolute best coffee.

"Sure," Jeonghan said with a smile, running his hand gently through Seungkwan's hair. "Come on, you can watch." 

Jeonghan took Seungkwan's hand and led him over to the small kitchen that was built into their dance studio's practice room. Seungkwan sat down on a stool and leaned against the counter, wiping sweat from his brow as he watched Jeonghan begin to make his coffee. 

Jeonghan picked up the coffee grinder before grinding the beans down. Once they were ground up, he put it in the machine, grabbing small cups to put the milk and cream in. 

"Seungkwan, how much are you wanting to drink?"

Seungkwan shrugged and even without looking at him, Jeonghan could hear him whine again.

"I'll start you off with half a cup." 

Another whine came from Seungkwan.

"Okay, a full cup." 

When the coffee was finished, Jeonghan poured it into a small cup, filling it to the brim. He leaned down and sipped some, making sure it wasn't too bitter, since Seungkwan hated bitter coffee. Tasting that it was sweet, almost sickeningly so, Jeonghan laughed. He knew Seungkwan would love it.

"Here you are." Jeonghan said as he set the cup down in front of Seungkwan, who then moved forward to start sipping it.

"Thank you." Seungkwan murmured.

While they had been busy making coffee, Jeonghan didn't even notice the commotion happening in the room next door until he heard the sound of frantic voices and screams coming from outside. 

Jeonghan first looked at Seungkwan, who's eyes were wide and already looking at him with the same surprise and confusion. Jeonghan turned his head and looked to the practice room next door after Seungkwan got up from his stool, running in. Jeonghan followed.

"What's going on?" Jeonghan spoke up, looking immediately to Seungcheol because he was the leader and usually knew what all was going on before anyone else did.

Seungcheol spun around to look at Jeonghan, the color drained from his face. It looked like he had just seen a ghost. Jeonghan's eyebrows rose and he was about to continue speaking until a bloody hand print slammed into one of the large glass windows. 

Seungkwan screamed. 

"Something's happening!" Seungkwan said frantically, pointing to the window. Outside, people were shrieking and running down the street. They all seemed to be in a panic, people running every which way.

In a panic, Seungcheol gathered all the members and urged them to get them to safety, locking them all in the back of the practice room. The thirteen of them were scared out of their minds, all huddled together as they were forced to listen to the chaos happening outside. 

Jeonghan couldn't remember how long they had been in there until some of the members began getting antsy, needing to get out. 

Vernon had been the first to leave the room, and when he reported that everything was safe, everyone else left as well. The practice room looked the same as how they left it, except outside, it was very obvious that something went horribly wrong.

Jeonghan was the first to see bodies laying on the street, mutilated and unmoving. After seeing, he covered his eyes and gasped, alerting the attention of Jihoon.

"What the hell is going on?" Vernon squeaked, eyes darting back and forth between the members with fear. 

"Those people," Chan stammered, eyes big. "They're dead." 

Within a second, Junhui hurried over to Chan, putting his hands over his eyes so the youngest wouldn't have to see the horrific sight outside of their practice room.

"Should we stay in here?" Seungkwan asked, hiding behind Seokmin as he peeked over his shoulder, looking afraid.

"Hey, there is someone outside." Vernon announced, pointing through the window at someone walking down the street. "Should we ask for help?"

"I don't think that's a very good idea." Seungcheol spoke up, nervously smiling. "We should just stay here." 

Vernon however, wasn't listening to Seungcheol. 

"Come on, let's go talk to him. We have to find out what's going on!" 

"I really don't think it's safe!" Seungcheol tried reasoning with the stubborn member, but by the time he could speak again, Vernon was stepping outside of the practice room.

Alarmed, Seungcheol ran after him.

Jeonghan looked around at the frightened members after watching Seungcheol leave with Vernon. With Seungcheol out of the practice room, he was the oldest, so he felt inclined to protect everyone.

"Wonwoo, Chan, get away from the windows." Jeonghan called as he waved them over, "Stay close." 

Jeonghan turned his head and was about to make sure everyone else was safe until a scared scream broke the silence. Jeonghan nearly jumped out of his skin. The scream was coming from outside and it sounded a lot like Vernon.

"Go back in the room!" Jeonghan said loudly, turning to start pushing the members into the backroom, even though they were all wanting to see what the scream was about. 

Once they were in the room, Jeonghan hurried over to the door, taking one step outside of the practice room. 

Down the road, he could see Seungcheol standing over Vernon, who was sitting on the ground, the man they went to talk to facing them. Jeonghan didn't know what was going on, but Vernon was shouting fearfully and Seungcheol was standing there in shock. 

"It's a monster!" Vernon was screaming, "What is that?" 

Panicked, Seungcheol grabbed Vernon and picked him up from the ground, backing away from the man.

"Guys!" Jeonghan yelled, waving his arm frantically for them to come over.

Another bloodcurdling scream echoed through the street after the man jumped forward and latched onto Vernon's arm. Startled, Seungcheol let go of Vernon and jumped back, nearly stumbling on the ground before catching himself.

"Oh my god!" Seungcheol cried out, watching as the man bit into Vernon's neck. By the time Seungcheol was able to get over his shock and do something however, Vernon fell to the ground, dead.

After seeing this, Seungcheol turned, Jeonghan watching as he ran toward him.

"We have to get out of here!" Seungcheol was gasping. "Jeonghan?"

Jeonghan could feel tears filling up his eyes when Seungcheol grabbed his face. 

"Snap out of it!" Seungcheol tried urging, but Jeonghan was frozen in his spot, staring at the leader in shock. 

The next thing Jeonghan noticed was Seungcheol taking hold of his hand before he was pulled back into the practice room. 

Vernon died on the first day, and the future only proved to be more difficult.

 

On the second day of the outbreak, Seungcheol had found a radio and they listened to the news from a safe area to find out what was going on.

From the radio reports, they learned that there was an outbreak of an airborne virus called Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, or cordyceps for short. Cordyceps was a parasitic virus that caused the infected host to become highly violent and aggressive, acting in an almost zombie-like state. 

It was extremely infectious and because of that, Seungcheol made sure that all of the members were all wearing masks so they wouldn't breathe in and inhale the disease-ridden spores that were in the air. 

While the virus was mainly spread through the air, it could also be transferred via bite or scratch. 

Jeonghan shuddered. He didn't want to think about what could have happened to Vernon had he survived the bite from the man infected with the cordyceps virus. While he was heartbroken about losing Vernon, in a sick way, it was almost better that he was dead so he wouldn't have to suffer and essentially become insane from the virus. 

 

It had been two weeks and everyone was on edge. With the loss of Vernon, it left the members depressed and scared about what would happen to them. 

Jeonghan had tried his best to calm and assure them that everything would be fine, but it was hard to do when even he wasn't sure about his own words. Jeonghan didn't know what was going to happen, honestly, but he had to be there for his best friends. 

"Jeonghan, have you seen Minghao?" it was Junhui, who looked rather concerned about where the younger Chinese boy could have gotten off to.

Jeonghan stared, shaking his head as his heart ached with worry.

"You don't know where he is?"

"No, I thought he was with you."

"I haven't seen him." 

Almost at the same time, as if they had both read their minds, Jeonghan ran off with Junhui, alarmed about where Minghao was. 

"Guys, what's wrong?" Chan asked as he sat by the fire, poking it with a stick to keep it going. 

"Minghao," Junhui wheezed, "Where is he?" 

Chan blinked and tilted his head, pointing off toward the forest. 

"He went with Soonyoung to look for supplies." Chan said slowly, "Why? Did something happen?"

Junhui took a small breath of relief upon hearing that Minghao was with Soonyoung, but Jeonghan could tell that he still wanted to see him.

"Nothing happened, I was just getting worried." Junhui said before giving Chan a weak smile. "Sorry for bothering you."

Hours passed and a nagging feeling in the back of his head kept telling Jeonghan that something was still wrong. They hadn't heard from Soonyoung or Minghao. No one had seen them. When hours turned into a day, Seungcheol sent Jihoon and Wonwoo out to search the nearby area, but there were no signs of them. 

Junhui was alone in the tent crying because he missed Minghao, who he had basically adopted as a little brother when they all became Pledis trainees. They were both from China, and in the dorm Junhui often helped Minghao with studying Korean. Even though Minghao wasn't very confident in his Korean, Junhui always made sure that he was learning correctly. 

Mingyu had tried comforting Junhui, but he just wanted to be alone. 

Being alone now was dangerous, but Jeonghan felt better about it because they were all sitting outside the tent, so Junhui was safe.

As the days passed, things began looking bleaker for Soonyoung and Minghao. Jihoon went out with Seokmin and they found a piece of Minghao's sweater that had been torn off on a thorn bush. There had been blood on it. 

When Seokmin and Jihoon got back to the camp that night and showed everyone the piece of bloodied and torn yellow cloth from Minghao's sweater, Junhui spent the rest of the night crying himself to sleep. 

 

On the four-week mark of the outbreak, they had all started running out of food. Some of the guys were exhausted and scared, others were starving and thirsty.

The morning started off quiet, a few boys waking up grumpy after not sleeping well. It had rained the previous night and water leaked through the tent, so sleeping had been extremely difficult. 

One of the grumpier boys was Jihoon, so no one messed with him as he sat at one of the benches of their campsite, blankly staring down at the ashes where the fire had once been burning. 

"Where is Chan?" Seungcheol asked as he leaned on Jihoon's shoulder, looking down at him with a small smile to try and cheer him up. Every day, Seungcheol took roll of where everyone was to make sure they were all okay. 

With a grumble, Jihoon merely pushed him away.

"He whined when I tried waking him up so I'm just letting him sleep." Jihoon said, as he had been the one in charge of watching over the youngest for the night. 

They had three tents at the campsite that they had found while scavenging an outdoor supplies store. In one tent, it was Seungcheol, Jisoo, and Jeonghan. The second tent was shared by Wonwoo, Mingyu, Seokmin, and Junhui. The third tent had Jihoon, Seungkwan, and Chan. 

"Seokmin found some food this morning from a store we searched. Has Chan eaten?" Seungcheol asked.

Jihoon rubbed his eyes sleepily before shrugging.

"I don't think so," Jihoon stated, "I tried giving him some of my food yesterday but he didn't want to eat."

Jeonghan watched Seungcheol as he silently listened, sitting across from Jihoon on the ground. 

The only ones at camp were Seungcheol, Jihoon, Seungkwan, Seokmin, and Chan. Everyone else was off searching for food as a team. 

Jeonghan closed his eyes and leaned back, trying to relax. He had been one of the ones woken up by the rain. Even though the tent he slept in didn't leak, he had a hard time sleeping because of the thunder.

After dozing off, Jeonghan found himself waking up when he heard a panicked voice coming from the third tent. Apparently, Seungcheol and Jihoon heard it as well. 

Seungcheol was the first to move, hurrying to the tent.

"Seungkwan?" Seungcheol called out, unzipping the tent. 

When the tent was open, Jeonghan anxiously peered inside from where he was sitting, gasping slightly. He sat up more, hands gripping at the ground. 

Seungkwan was sitting next to Chan, lightly shaking the youngest member as he cried. 

"Wake up!" Seungkwan sobbed, "Chan, can you hear me?"

Chan never woke up, starvation getting the best of him.

Later that evening, the remaining members all held a makeshift funeral service for the fallen boys. Jisoo had made crosses out of sticks to honor Vernon, Soonyoung, Minghao, and Chan. 

The rest of the night, everyone was silent, the only noise being Seungcheol after going around and telling everyone goodnight, placing kisses on their foreheads. 

 

It was the second month and on their travels, Jisoo managed to break open a lock on a door of an industrial factory. It didn't matter the place, because Seungcheol knew that everyone just needed shelter. The tents had ripped up during a storm, so those were out of the question to use now.

They were lucky to be able to find the factory. It was big enough for all of the members and even then, they still had a lot of room. Seungcheol was the first to walk in and scope the area out to make sure it was safe before letting everyone else inside. It was dark and a little humid inside, hot, but it was better than being outside in the rain.

Jeonghan walked in and his eyes instantly went up to the ceiling, noticing how large the building was. He could see a staircase and what appeared to be an elevator that was no longer in service for obvious reasons, since there was no electricity.

To be completely honest, Jeonghan was extremely surprised at how fast South Korea went downhill. He didn't know that it would happen so quickly. It was only the second month and all the buildings were trashed and neglected.

The water didn't work, which made bathing rather hard. No electricity, of course. He had even seen some of nature reclaiming what was once theirs. In one house they visited earlier, the outside was covered with vines and the inside, weeds had grown through the floorboards.

Jeonghan was thankful that they hadn't run into many people during their time traveling. He viewed everyone as dangerous now. They were doing their best to avoid strangers, especially after one situation put Seungcheol and everyone else on edge. They had been staying in a small cabin when a group of tattooed survivors broke in and gave them quite a fright.

"Seokmin, check the stairs, okay?" Seungcheol asked, looking to Seokmin with a small smile.

Seokmin was one of the more obedient members. He was responsible and hardworking, Seungcheol trusted him.

"Alright." Seokmin nodded before he went over to the stairs where Seungcheol told him to check.

Deciding to check things out for himself, Jeonghan started walking around, keeping a hand on the gun in its holster.

Because they had to have some form of protection from the infected and from other survivors, Seungcheol took Jeonghan out on a hunt for weapons. They ended up finding an old pawn shop and to their shock and surprise, it hadn't been fully raided. 

They were able to find knives and a gun. Seungcheol wasn't comfortable with having the gun, since they were terrifying, he let Jeonghan have it since he was the second oldest and most mature member. 

Jeonghan didn't necessarily like being the one in charge of holding the gun either, but someone had to do it and he wouldn't complain if that person had to be him.

Jeonghan had never ever shot a gun before things began happening. They found two packs of ammo, each with 20 bullets. 40 bullets in all wasn't enough to last a lifetime so they had to be very careful and use them sparingly.

One morning, Jeonghan went out by himself to have target practice, using ten bullets. He wasn't perfect with a gun and it unnerved him, but if things went to hell, he'd be able to protect his members and that was all that mattered. 

With the gun, they were also able to hunt for animals and food. They hadn't tried shooting any deer or birds yet, but the possibility was definitely there.

Jeonghan pulled open a rusty door, shuddering when it creaked open noisily. That wasn't good, especially if they were trying to go about things quietly. During they time running from the monsters, they quickly learned that they were attracted to loud noises. After discovering that they liked sound, Seungcheol made sure to keep everyone fairly quiet.

Jeonghan jumped when he felt someone touch his shoulder. Whipping out the gun, he turned sharply on his heel, holding out his arms. The look on Jisoo's face when the gun was pointed right at him was that of pure shock and fear. Jeonghan's eyes widened as well, seeing Jisoo fall to the ground, landing on his butt.

"Hey!" Jisoo stammered, holding up his arms fearfully. "It's just me!"

Jeonghan gasped and dropped the gun, the clatter echoing throughout the entire factory. Staring down at Jisoo, their eyes burned into each other's, both males staying still when they heard inhuman noises growing louder.

Jisoo stood in the blink of an eye, startling Jeonghan again as he had been in shock and unable to move.

"They're coming." Jisoo breathed before grabbing Jeonghan's hand, pulling him from the room.

Jeonghan didn't even realize that he had left the gun on the ground as Jisoo ran out with him in tow.

"Seungcheol!" Jisoo called, voice loudly bouncing off the factory walls.

The noises were coming closer, but because of the echo, Jeonghan couldn't figure out where they were coming from. Most of the members were grouped in the middle of the spacious room they were in, looking around, on alert. Some of the older members like Wonwoo and Junhui were holding their weapons out, preparing to fight if need be.

Jeonghan's head snapped to the stairs when he heard the sound of Seokmin yelling for help.

The first to run to his rescue was Jihoon, followed by Wonwoo and Mingyu. Jeonghan wanted to run and help him, but Jisoo was holding him back.

"Jisoo!" Jeonghan tried pulling away, but Jisoo had a surprisingly strong grip.

"It's dangerous!" Jisoo cried out, hugging onto Jeonghan.

Jeonghan stood there against his will as he heard the noises of Seokmin's screams reverberate through the entire building. Not wanting to stand there and do nothing, Jeonghan roughly shoved Jisoo out of the way. He had to help. The younger members depended on the older ones to look out for them. What kind of elder would he be to just leave Seokmin for dead?

Running back to the room where he left his gun, Jeonghan scrambled to pick it up before flying past the rest of the scared members, hair flying back.

"Seokmin!"

The scene was intense. Seokmin was backed up against the wall and it appeared that he dropped his weapon on the ground. There were two of the creatures heading his way.

It was all such a blur as Jeonghan ran closer, gun in hand. He had never shot any of the infected before. He was only experienced in target practice, shooting at trees and occasionally squirrels. Everything was happening so fast, it was overwhelming.

Hearing Seokmin's third scream made Jeonghan take the shot.

The gun went off four times, Jeonghan stopping dead in his tracks.

There were two thumps of the infected falling to the ground, the bullets having gone straight through their heads. The target practice paid off. He had fired four times, and it looked like two bullets went into their heads while the other ones either missed or lodged somewhere else in their bodies.

Jeonghan took a long sigh of relief, closing his eyes. He got the infected before they hurt Seokmin.

Jeonghan was about to look over at Seokmin to see how he was, but Seungcheol ran past him and nearly pushed him over in the process.

Jeonghan quickly watched as Seungcheol slid to his knees next to Seokmin, who had crumpled to the floor. His arms were wrapped tightly around his stomach and he was shaking. Jeonghan assumed he was just horrified that he nearly was killed, but Seungcheol was yelling.

"Seokmin!" Seungcheol's voice was loud, hands gripping on Seokmin's shoulders.

Seokmin's body was shaking and he was grunting, other assorted noises of pain escaping past his lips.

"What's wrong?" Jeonghan spoke up quickly, eyes widening in shock.

Jeonghan stared as Seungcheol coaxed Seokmin to move his arms to see the injury. When he saw the blood staining the front of his shirt, Jeonghan's heart dropped. No, what was that from? He couldn't have. Jeonghan practiced hard on aiming. He couldn't have accidentally shot Seokmin.

As Seungcheol tore off Seokmin's shirt to further inspect the wound, Jeonghan could feel his heart fall and shatter in his chest. He took a step back, shaking his head. He could feel his face heating up as a nervous blush spread across his cheeks and neck. 

Jeonghan glanced to the side when he noticed all of the other members slowly coming in.

"It's okay Seokmin, don't try to move." Seungcheol cooed, hands covered in Seokmin's blood as he tried applying pressure on the wound to make the bleeding stop. "Stay with us."

Jeonghan felt numb and hollow inside, seeing Seungcheol caress Seokmin's cheeks with his bloody hands. Seokmin was becoming pale at an increasingly fast rate. His eyes were starting to flutter.

He wasn't a murderer. He didn't mean to shoot Seokmin. Apparently, he wasn't as good a shot as he once thought. His target practice didn't pay off. He was able to kill the two infected before they got to Seokmin, but in the end, he was the one to kill him.

Why didn't he listen to Jisoo and stay? It was his fault for Seokmin dying. Jeonghan collapsed to the floor in sobs, hiding his face with his hands. He felt so much shame and guilt.

"You killed him." Jeonghan heard one of the younger members gasp, but he couldn't make out which one because of how hard he was sobbing. "Seokmin is dead."

"I didn't kill him." Jeonghan cried out, "I didn't mean to! I'm so sorry."

Jeonghan let himself be pulled up before he found two arms wrapped around him in a protective, comforting hug. It was Jisoo. When he felt two more arms surround him, Jeonghan looked and saw Seungkwan.

"It's okay, shh." Jisoo whispered into his ear, stroking his hair. "Don't look."

Seungkwan stayed silent as he hugged Jeonghan from behind, but Jeonghan really appreciated the hug.

 

The third month rolled around slowly and ominously, and Jeonghan knew that it wouldn't be a good month. It had already proven to be difficult after their camp was ransacked by rogue survivors who were looking for supplies and food. Deciding that it would be safer to take everyone somewhere else, they gathered what wasn't stolen and Seungcheol led everyone away from camp. 

The journey through the woods was hard. They all weren't used to the rough terrain and it was confusing to navigate. Mingyu had a compass on his wristwatch, but it wasn't useful since none of them knew how to read it. Junhui had found a map, but it had gotten wet during a storm so it was destroyed. 

Jeonghan had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as Seungcheol brought them through a town that was obviously abandoned, as there were no signs of living people. They had passed a few houses that were overgrown with the fungus that produced the dangerous spores, but everyone wore their masks so none of them were infected. 

It was almost as if his eyes were playing tricks on him, because as they walked, Jeonghan could've sworn that he kept seeing someone following them. Whenever he looked, the person disappeared from his line of sight, but it was becoming worrisome. 

"Seungcheol," Jeonghan said softly, walking alongside the leader before tugging gently on his shirt sleeve. 

"Hmm?" Seungcheol hummed, turning his head to look at Jeonghan, "What is it?" 

"Do you feel that?" Jeonghan asked, keeping his voice quiet so he wouldn't alert the other members. 

"Feel what?" 

"It's like we're being watched." 

Seungcheol looked disturbed by Jeonghan's statement before he cautiously looked around. 

"Let's find a house to rest, I think you're just tired." Seungcheol said with an apologetic smile, patting Jeonghan on the shoulder blade.

Jeonghan wasn't too happy that Seungcheol completely blew off his worry, but he didn't want to make it escalate into a problem. Deciding to stay quiet, Jeonghan followed Seungcheol as he scoped out the house they entered to make sure it was safe before they could all relax. Downstairs was safe, but they hadn't checked upstairs. All was silent though, so it didn't cause Jeonghan to worry much.

"So what now?" Mingyu asked, leaning against Wonwoo as he hugged into him. 

"We keep going north." Seungcheol said with a confident nod. 

"Are you sure your plan will work?" Jihoon asked, "It's a little crazy, if you ask me." 

Seungcheol gave a worried smile and nervous chuckle before rubbing the back of his neck. 

"I hope my plan works." 

Around the time when the infection first started, the news report had stated that at that moment, only South Korea was infected. Seungcheol had decided to take everyone north and to The Military Demarcation Line, which was the border between North and South Korea. 

North Korea was allowing healthy South Korean citizens into their country for safety. Even though the two countries weren't friendly with each other, the cordyceps virus had brought them together, but only until the virus was under control. 

"I'm scared." Seungkwan whispered. "What if we don't make it?" 

"We will." Seungcheol said firmly, shooting Seungkwan a stern yet caring glare. It bothered him when the members started to doubt their survival abilities.

Jisoo opened his mouth to speak, but a bump from upstairs caused everyone to become absolutely silent. 

"Seungcheol?" Jeonghan breathed, nudging the leader softly. "Someone is upstairs."

Seungcheol reached into his pocket before taking out the small knife that he had collected during their travels. It was mainly used to cut twigs and whatnot for fire starting, but it could be used for protection as well if need be.

"Stay here. If I yell, take everyone and leave." Seungcheol said, putting a heavy hand on Jeonghan's shoulder.

Jeonghan gazed into Seungcheol's eyes and shook his head, reaching out to grab his arm. 

"No, can't we all just leave? Let's not split up," Jeonghan whimpered slightly.

Wanting to be stubborn and protect everyone however, was what Seungcheol liked to do, since he felt that he was the father of the group.

"I'll be okay." Seungcheol grinned, "Don't worry so much."

Jeonghan felt like a helpless child as he watched Seungcheol walk to the stairs before disappearing up them. He glanced around at the boys in the room, seeing that they were feeling the same as he was. Jihoon looked scared, which said something since he rarely got scared that easily. Wonwoo was hugging Mingyu tighter, and Jisoo was sitting by Seungkwan silently. 

Jeonghan turned his head when he heard Junhui shuffle over to him. 

"I don't like this." was what Junhui whispered seconds before a loud thumping noise came from upstairs along with a grunt. 

Everyone in the room jumped, Jeonghan even more so. He took a few running steps toward the stairs but stopped halfway when he saw the knife that Seungcheol had falling down the stairs. 

"We have to go." Jeonghan quickly announced, spinning around to look at everyone with wide eyes. "Now!" 

In a panic, Jeonghan rounded up the boys before forcing them out of the house, even though they wanted to wait and see if Seungcheol was okay. Jeonghan knew that he wasn't and he didn't want to stay there any longer. They had to go or whatever got to Seungcheol would get to them all next. 

After running a short distance away from the house, Seungkwan broke down and began freaking out before eventually falling to the ground after fainting. 

Junhui carried Seungkwan the rest of the way until they stopped at their next location, which appeared to be a small convenience store. It was partially empty, but there were canned food items, so they were all able to eat. 

The mood was rather somber without the strong and optimistic voice of their leader cheering them up. All was silent. 

 

The convenience store had been where they all stayed for a while. Another month passed, Jeonghan had been keeping track of the date. It was now the fourth month since the outbreak and they were all doing okay. 

Jeonghan had underestimated how much food they had canned in the store. Every night, everyone went to bed with full bellies, and that definitely helped lighten spirits and make people feel better. 

The sleeping arrangements weren't ideal, but it worked. There were seven of them, and now that Jeonghan was the leader, he made sure to keep things strict and orderly so they could prevent tragedies. 

Every night, three would stay awake as the remaining four slept, and they'd take turns each day. The ones who lacked sleep were always tired during the day, but keeping watch at night helped them keep safe.

Jihoon was never a morning person but luckily, they found a jar of coffee grounds that they could make coffee from, so that sometimes woke him up. He was always grumpy though, despite how late he woke up. 

"How'd you sleep?" Jisoo asked softly, putting a gentle arm around Jihoon's shoulders. 

Jihoon mumbled something under his breath, most likely a few curse words, before shrugging Jisoo's arm off.

"Fine." Jihoon muttered.

Mingyu, uncontrollably happy in the morning, had just gotten up, entering the room.

"Where is Wonwoo?" Mingyu asked, looking around with a pleasant grin. 

Wonwoo and Mingyu had grown close, nearly inseparable during their journey. Wonwoo was everything to Mingyu. Seungkwan had even noticed that they were closer than everyone previously thought after walking in on them kissing without them noticing. 

Of course, being Seungkwan, he couldn't resist the urge to gossip and tell everyone about his findings. It was awkward though, since everyone knew of their relationship but neither Wonwoo nor Mingyu knew that anyone had found out.

"I made him coffee. Is he outside?" Mingyu asked, smile still beaming on his face. His smile could light up a dark room. Jeonghan, who had been silently listening in the room nodded to Mingyu's question. 

"Wonwoo is outside with Seungkwan and Junhui." Jeonghan said with a nod of his head, returning Mingyu's smile.

Jeonghan, Jihoon, and Jisoo watched as Mingyu happily left the room, heading outside to give his boyfriend a cup of coffee. Jeonghan had to admit, it was pretty cute.

"Jeonghan," Jisoo's voice filled the room when he finally spoke up.

Jeonghan looked at Jihoon.

"Are we still going to go through with Seungcheol's plan?" Jisoo asked.

Ever since they lost Seungcheol, no one had talked about him. Jisoo mentioning his name had been the first time in a month that he was spoken about. Of course, the members all missed him like crazy, but to deal with the pain, they just kept quiet. Jeonghan had caught Jisoo consoling Seungkwan, but other than that, everyone stayed silent.

Now that he was the group leader, Jeonghan was responsible for everyone's safety. He had never been a leader before, but he was certainly trying his best. So far, he felt that he was doing a good job. He felt slightly bad though because he hadn't thought of a plan for their survival. He was just taking it one day at a time.

"His plan to go to North Korea?" Jeonghan quietly questioned, tilting his head.

Jisoo nodded.

Honestly, Jeonghan hadn't given it much thought.

"I'm not sure." Jeonghan slowly said as he thought. "What do you think we should do?"

Jisoo pursed his lips before glancing at Jihoon, unsure of his answer. Jihoon looked back at him but stayed quiet, not wanting to speak that early in the morning.

Jeonghan frowned slightly and turned his head to the convenience store door, hearing something out of the ordinary.

It didn't take long for Jeonghan to hop up from his seat and run outside to investigate after the noises just became louder. He didn't know what it was, but it was unsettling. 

Upon opening the door, Jeonghan quickly rushed out, but paused after stepping on something that crunched under his feet. Looking down, Jeonghan could see that it was a Styrofoam cup and there was coffee splattered all over the dirt. It was the same coffee cup that Mingyu had.

"Mingyu?" Jeonghan called, instantly feeling alert. 

Jeonghan turned his head to the side wen he heard running footsteps and the snapping of twigs. It was Junhui, and he looked startled.

"Do you know where Mingyu is?" Jeonghan asked as the Chinese boy came over, feeling disheartened to see him shake his head.

"No, but I heard Wonwoo yell. Where are they?" Junhui asked, eyes big. 

Both Jeonghan and Junhui turned their heads simultaneously when a sudden screech echoed through the area. From the pitch, it sounded like Seungkwan. 

Jeonghan felt Junhui grab his hand before they both started running down the overgrown sidewalk. The convenience store they were settled in was in a small neighborhood full of houses that they had all searched through. There had been a few infected that they had to kill but other than that, the area seemed safe. 

Junhui pulled Jeonghan along, the screaming becoming louder. When they turned the corner after running behind one of the houses, Jeonghan nearly screamed as well.

"Seungkwan, get away!" Junhui yelled as he dashed forward to younger boy, roughly pulling him away. 

Seungkwan had been sitting on the ground, too shocked to move, so Junhui ended up dragging him through the dirt. Once he felt Junhui, Seungkwan grabbed his arm and pulled himself up, hugging onto him tightly afterward. 

Jeonghan didn't know what to do. He felt frozen in his steps, like he couldn't move. 

"Wonwoo tried to save Mingyu but he couldn't fight it off." Seungkwan sobbed into Junhui's chest. 

Jeonghan could see that the creature was beginning to head in their direction, right toward Junhui and Seungkwan. With a gasp, Jeonghan ran forward and reached out to grab his knife. Being careful yet quick, Jeonghan plunged the knife through the creature's skull, killing it before it could get to the two boys.

After it fell to the ground, Jeonghan could hear Seungkwan sobbing harder. 

"Don't let him see them." Jeonghan ordered, and when he looked at Junhui, he put his hands over Seungkwan's eyes to prevent him from seeing the massacre of their two friends.

When Jihoon and Jisoo found out what happened, they were stunned. Jihoon didn't say a word as he took his cup of coffee and left into the back room of the convenience store to be alone. He refused to speak to anyone. 

Junhui became Seungkwan's protector, never leaving his side. Jisoo already had crosses made for the deaths of Wonwoo and Mingyu and later that evening, they finished burying them and holding a small service.

 

A week or so after the deaths of Wonwoo and Mingyu, Jihoon began acting strange. He was becoming depressed and distant, not walking to anyone. He was grumpier than usual, but it didn't phase them. Jeonghan could tell that he was unhappy, and it happened too fast on a rainy Monday morning.

"Jeonghan," 

Jeonghan crinkled his nose when he was suddenly being shaken awake from his slumber. He opened his eyes before they fluttered closed, not adjusted to the light in the room. A whine escaped his lips and he turned to lay on his stomach.

Jeonghan was always difficult to wake up.

"Wake up!" it was Jisoo.

"What is it?" Jeonghan groggily asked, squinting his eyes after opening them once more.

"It's Jihoon," Jisoo stammered, "He's gone." 

Hearing this, even half asleep, made Jeonghan shoot up from his makeshift bed on the floor. In the doorway, Junhui was standing there with his arms crossed, an unhappy look on his face.

"All our food is gone." Junhui stated. "Everything is gone." 

"What are you all talking about?" Jeonghan asked as he stood, hurriedly pushing past Junhui.

Jisoo and Junhui followed.

"Jihoon left and he took all of our supplies." Junhui stated, throwing his hands down in disgust, slapping at his thighs. "How could he just leave?" 

Jeonghan opened the cabinets that they had been keeping all their food, and he had to blink several times to make sure he was seeing right. Completely empty. 

Jeonghan went down the row, opening all of the cabinets that they stored their cans, and each cabinet was empty. It was all gone. The backpack they had was gone too, as it wasn't on the counter. Their weapons, new map, food. 

Jeonghan could feel his hands beginning to shake. No, that couldn't be. Jihoon wouldn't leave them like that, right? They were basically brothers? They had been best friends since they were all trainees. Jeonghan couldn't believe it.

Scribbled on a torn piece of paper was a note, left on the counter top.

The note was messy and hurried, obviously in Jihoon's handwriting because of how sloppy it was. 

"Friends. Brothers. I'm sorry to be leaving like this. I feel like for my own survival, it'd be best to go on by myself. Jeonghan, I don't doubt your leadership skills, but I'm incredibly sorry. I can't continue on with you all.

After Seungcheol died, nothing has been the same. I have to go my own way. Tell Seungkwan that I'll miss him the most. That kid, he's annoying, but I view him as a younger brother. Take care of him. 

\- Jihoon."

The note was hard to read without crying. After reading it out loud to the remaining members, Jeonghan had to take a walk around the convenience store to gather his thoughts on what to do now that they were out of food and everything else they had worked so hard to get. Things were falling apart more than they already were.

 

The fifth month had finally come and it was getting close to winter. It was now December and because of that, it was becoming harder to stay alive as temperatures continued to drop each day. It had snowed that morning, covering the ground in a white blanket. 

After Jihoon left with all of their supplies, life was definitely more difficult. When the shock set in and everyone came to terms with his absence, they got their priorities set. To lead the remaining three boys, Jeonghan was doing his best to make sure they were safe. Safety was their main concern.

When it was discovered that Jihoon took all of their canned foods, Jeonghan didn't know what to do. Seeing that they had nothing left in the convenience store, Jeonghan decided to take everyone and continue venturing up north. 

Jeonghan had discussed it for a long time with Jisoo, about what to do now that they were dwindling down in numbers at a quick rate. They were both scared, but continued to agree on going to North Korea, as it was their current best option. Even though they had lost nine members, there was no excuse to let the fate of everyone else crumble. 

Jeonghan wanted to make Seungcheol proud, and making it to North Korea was the only way.

They had taken refuge in a small house in the infected-filled woods. Because there were so many outside, the boys had to be very quiet in the house to not attract their attention. They were fairly good about not making any noise, although sometimes Seungkwan had trouble keeping his cries in whenever he glanced out the window to see two or three creatures lurking just outside.

They had been at the house for about a week and were already settled in, but Jeonghan knew that they had to keep going so they would make it to North Korea. He didn't even know if they were still letting South Koreans in that weren't infected, but Jeonghan had to stay positive and patient or they'd all never make it. 

"Do you have everything?" Jeonghan asked as he put a gentle hand on Seungkwan's shoulder, watching him close. 

Seungkwan, dressed in a light blue sweater and jeans, nodded. On his back was a black bag full of his supplies. 

"Yes." Seungkwan said, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Jisoo helped me pack."

Jeonghan left Seungkwan to check up on Jisoo and Junhui to see if they were packing as well. Junhui announced that he was done packing, but Jisoo had a few more things left to stuff into his backpack before they could all go. 

On their journey after leaving the convenience store, they found another small neighborhood that had a few houses. Even though they were overgrown with plants, after searching around, the boys were able to find food. Just a few cans of food went a long way, especially for only four people. 

When the boys were ready to leave the house, Jeonghan went out first to check the area before letting anyone else exit. The monsters were everywhere, but they were far enough away that they could all escape without being attacked.

"I don't want to." Seungkwan said as he clung to Junhui inside.

Jeonghan glanced to Jisoo, who was already outside with him, not quite sure what to do.

"Seungkwan, it's okay. We'll protect you." Jisoo tried to persuade the youngest boy, giving him a shy smile.

Seungkwan bit his lip and looked up at Junhui, who was watching him lovingly.

"It's okay," Junhui whispered, his hand moving to gently pat Seungkwan's hair.

With a fearful look in his eye, Seungkwan hesitated but slowly nodded, even though he stayed frozen in his spot. Needing some help from Junhui to get him moving, eventually, Seungkwan was able to take a few steps outside.

"See?" Jeonghan smiled to try and help reassure Seungkwan, "Everything is going to be okay." 

When they were all finally able to make Seungkwan less worried, the four boys headed on their way, traveling in the direction of north. Jeonghan wasn't sure where they were because they didn't have a map, but something told him that they were going in the right direction. Trusting his gut instinct, Jeonghan continued on with his boys.

About an hour into their trip, Seungkwan began getting tired and slightly whiny, so that was a sign that they needed to stop and take a short rest for a few minutes and eat something. 

Cracking open a can of beans, Jisoo handed it to Seungkwan for him to enjoy. Well, not necessarily enjoy, but anything made Seungkwan happier.

"How much longer?" Seungkwan asked, looking up at his elders, the can of beans in his hands.

Jeonghan couldn't say. He didn't know how much longer there was, but he knew that they still had a while to go.

"Not sure," Jeonghan said with a small shrug. "It shouldn't be too much longer." Jeonghan lied. He couldn't help but lie. He didn't want Seungkwan to continue worrying.

Jisoo and Junhui exchanged glances, Jeonghan had easily noticed it. It made his stomach drop, and when Seungkwan wasn't looking, he gave them both apologetic smiles. Junhui returned his smile, but Jisoo looked a bit concerned.

Once Seungkwan was finished snacking, he walked alongside Jisoo as they resumed their wandering through the forest. Jeonghan was leading, Junhui next to him.

"What if North Korea doesn't work out?" Junhui asked quietly, tilting his head. "Would it be possible to somehow get to China?" 

Jeonghan hummed quietly and before glancing to his side where Junhui was.

"Maybe." Jeonghan slowly spoke. "We'd have to go through North Korea or find a boat to get to China, but it's possible. Why?"

Junhui shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets.

"I'm curious if the virus has spread to China."

Jeonghan smiled weakly, putting his hand out and onto Junhui's shoulder.

"Do you miss your family?" he asked softly.

Junhui nodded, mustering a brave yet pained smile.

"I miss them every day. I'm worried."

 

After days turned into weeks, Jeonghan could finally see it. The border, they made it there alive, the four of them. Jeonghan couldn't believe that they were finally there! It had taken such a long time and they lost so many friends, but they were going to survive, and that was all that mattered. 

Jeonghan grinned excitedly, turning his head to look at Jisoo, Junhui, and Seungkwan, who were equally if not more excited that their journey was finally over! 

The wall was tall and dirty with overgrown vines. Upon closer inspection, Jeonghan could see faint stains of blood smeared into the concrete, but assuming that was just from the infected being fought off, the worry balled up in the pit of his stomach wasn't as strong. 

"Where is everyone?" Seungkwan was the first to speak as he looked around, eyes eventually making contact with Jeonghan's.

That was a good question. The wall was giant, and in the middle there was a gate of some sort. There was a watch tower type box sitting atop the wall, and he was sure that if someone was in there, they would've been seen by then. 

Jeonghan ran a hand through his long hair, starting to feel nervous. 

No one had come out to greet them or welcome them across the border. Even though North and South Korea weren't exactly friends, he would've thought that they'd at least be cooperative since they had been the ones who came up with the idea to allow South Koreans in while the disease was violent. 

Jeonghan slowly took a step closer to the wall, eyes glued to the watch tower box. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling someone was in there.

"Hello?" he called, hoping to hear someone answer back in response.

Junhui sighed quietly, walking toward Jeonghan. With a small frown, he set his hand on Jeonghan's shoulder, face sad and tired.

"I don't think anyone is here." Junhui whispered, watching Jeonghan with concern in his eyes. 

Jeonghan slowly shook his head, meeting Junhui's gaze. That wasn't true. There must've been somebody there to help them. They made it all the way there, lost so many friends, only to have it end like this? No, he wouldn't take that as an answer.

"We worked so hard, Junhui." Jeonghan mumbled, reaching out to take Junhui's hand. "There has to be someone here."

Not seconds later, Jeonghan heard a creaking sound of a door being pushed open. Alarmed, he turned, only to gasp and jump out of the way when he saw an arrow flying in his direction. He had been so caught up in the rush of everything happening quickly, that he didn't even notice at first when the arrow struck Junhui, lodging deep into his shoulder. Jeonghan nearly fell back when he saw Junhui grunt and grab at the arrow, crying out in pain. 

"Junhui!" Seungkwan screamed and ran to Junhui, holding him. 

Up on the border was a slender man in armor, equipped with a bow and arrow. He was obviously North Korean, and not friendly. 

"Hurry, come on!" Jeonghan called to everyone before helping Seungkwan hold Junhui up as they ran back into the forest. Jisoo was leading, occasionally glancing back and watching helplessly as the color began draining from Junhui's face.

"Is he following us?" Jeonghan asked, looking to Jisoo worriedly.

Jisoo shook his head frantically.

"No, no, but we need to get out of here and find somewhere for him to rest!" Jisoo said, pointing to Junhui.

Seungkwan was crying and sniffling, snot dripping down his face along with his tears. Jeonghan looked over at him only for a moment before they came to a stop, Junhui unable to continue walking. Feeling him starting to weaken and lean down, Jeonghan carefully helped him down to the ground, laying him onto his back.

"Junhui, open your eyes." Jeonghan quickly stammered, patting the Chinese boy's cheeks lightly. Junhui stirred, opening them again weakly.

"It was only a matter of time before I was next to die." Junhui breathed, leaning into Jeonghan's touch. 

"No, you're going to be fine, okay? Stay with us, please." Seungkwan sobbed, looking at the bloody wound from the arrow that was still stuck in Junhui's shoulder. 

Jeonghan knew that Junhui was bleeding out and there was nothing they could do to save him. He understood what Junhui was thinking from the look sparkling in his fading eyes. Leaning down, Jeonghan hugged him gently, his lips placing soft kisses on Junhui's forehead. His skin was becoming cold as he paled, and it made Jeonghan feel so dead inside. 

Caressing Junhui's cheek, Jeonghan watched silently as Junhui gave a small smile, eyes shutting slowly. 

"Junhui!" Seungkwan screamed, "No!" 

"It's too late, Seungkwan." Jisoo whispered, crouching down next to Seungkwan. "He's gone."

Jeonghan watched as Seungkwan threw his arms around Jisoo, sobbing into his chest. 

So it was down to the three of them? How was that even possible? Jeonghan clenched his jaw and looked away from his two remaining friends, eyes filling with tears. He couldn't cry in front of them, especially not Seungkwan. They had to be strong for him. Seungkwan was the youngest now. 

As the oldest, Jeonghan had to make him feel safe. He didn't know how to make Seungkwan feel safe though, because from the start, they had all been told the same thing. They had been promised that it would get better, that everything would be okay. 

Once in North Korea, they would be able to survive. Well, that was all a lie, apparently. There were no survivors that went into North Korea. Had it just been a scam for South Koreans to go to the border, only to be used as target practice for North Korean soldiers? That was what it seemed like, anyway.

Jeonghan moved and hugged Seungkwan as well, holding onto him with Jisoo. He could feel Seungkwan shaking from crying so hard.

"We should go." Jeonghan quietly whispered, standing hesitantly.

Jisoo looked up, his stare almost incredulous. 

"Go?" he asked, standing. "Go where? Jeonghan, we don't have a plan anymore. North Korea is out of the question and there's no way we can find a boat to China. We can't leave." 

"But we have to try something." Jeonghan replied back, feeling slightly defensive that Jisoo was talking back to him. "We can't just give up." 

"For once, can we try to survive without having a plan?" Jisoo asked, eyes still burning into Jeonghan's. "Our plans have never worked. We just need to focus on each day that comes our way instead of preparing to do something that won't work."

 

Because they weren't able to bury Junhui due to the thick layer of snow covering the ground, the three boys decided to get the arrow out of his shoulder before finding a place to put his body. Jeonghan carried Junhui's body as Jisoo and Seungkwan followed along behind, eventually finding a small indention in a bolder where they could put him.

After praying together, Jeonghan led Jisoo and Seungkwan away in the other direction.

It was scarier because they didn't have a plan. Jeonghan didn't know what to do, what their next goal was, where they would go. The entire time, ever since the outbreak, they had planned to go to North Korea since it had been rumored a safe place to go during the virus. Seeing that months later, all their hard work had been for nothing because it was a scam, a lie, a sham. Jeonghan didn't know what to think.

The snow was starting to come down harder and Jeonghan was afraid that there was going to be a snowstorm. He didn't know where the buildings were that they stayed in previously, all turned around in directions due to how thick it was snowing.

Where were they going? South? Maybe west? Jeonghan didn't know and he was certain that Jisoo and Seungkwan didn't know, either.

Everything was painted white. The trees were heavily decorated with snow and the ground was completely covered. He had been so full of adrenaline earlier that Jeonghan didn't even notice how cold he was until he breathed out and saw a white puff come out of his mouth. Upon realizing, Jeonghan then began feeling how badly his body was shaking.

Jeonghan glanced back to Jisoo, seeing that he was walking next to Seungkwan, his arm around his shoulders. Seungkwan was shaking too, Jeonghan could easily see, though he didn't know if it was from fear or the freezing temperatures. Jisoo seemed fine, since he was wearing the thickest jacket. Seungkwan was wearing a light, long sleeved t-shirt. Jeonghan was lucky that they found a sweater that fit him.

"How are you both?" Jeonghan asked, voice coming out with a tremble.

Jisoo was the first one to answer.

"Cold, but good. Right Seungkwan?"

Seungkwan didn't give an answer, only nodding. The only audible noise coming from Seungkwan was the sound of his teeth chattering.

"We'll find a house soon." Jeonghan said to try and make them feel better, mainly Seungkwan, but he didn't seem to be listening.

Deciding to just keep walking, Jeonghan kept his mouth shut. The journey was more miserable in pure silence, only hearing the wind whipping next to their ears, but Jeonghan wasn't mad that they weren't in a chatty mood. A lot was happening.

After taking another step however, Jeonghan suddenly stopped, making a face. There had been a cracking noise when his foot made contact with the ground, which surprised him.

"Jeonghan?" Jisoo asked, voice filled with concern.

Jeonghan swallowed the growing lump in his throat, not wanting to look down and see what he was stepping on. He had a pretty bad idea of what they all managed to walk onto.

"Don't move." Jeonghan warned, mustering up enough courage to look down. With a moment of hesitation, Jeonghan finally glanced at the ground and his fear was confirmed.

Somehow, they walked straight onto a frozen lake and they were standing on a fairly thin and weak layer of ice.

"What is it?" Seungkwan stuttered out, looking forward at Jeonghan with big eyes.

"We're standing on ice."

Jeonghan knew it was dangerous and they needed to get off as soon as they could before it broke and one of them fell in the freezing water. If they fell in, it'd be nearly impossible to get out, as the surrounding ice around the broken part would be weak and with the slipperiness, whoever fell in wouldn't be able to crawl out.

"Oh my god." Jisoo whispered under his breath, eyes widening like full moons.

Jeonghan turned around and looked at Jisoo, about to speak, until he stopped. Raising an eyebrow, he leaned to the side, looking off behind Jisoo and Seungkwan and into the distance. There was someone moving toward them, but he couldn't make out who it was.

Jeonghan looked at Seungkwan when he turned to gaze back, having seen his gaze behind him. He didn't think much of it until he heard Seungkwan gasp and start making whimpering noises.

"Seungkwan?" Jeonghan questioned, debating whether or not to move across the ice to get closer to Seungkwan or not.

But what was wrong?

Jisoo, who was closer to Seungkwan on the ice, reached out and gently tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

When Seungkwan turned his head to face them, his eyes were becoming red and puffy from tears. He sniffled, unable to speak.

"Jun," Seungkwan started, fear on his face. "Junhui."

Jeonghan stared at Seungkwan's face, unable to piece his words together. Junhui, yes, but what about Junhui? That was the question. He had passed on, not in the most peaceful way, but his soul was in a better place. They prayed for him and made sure his body was comfortable. Was Seungkwan just upset about him? But why would he panic about Junhui now? How was that related to the person slowly approaching?

Wait.

Jeonghan felt his mouth become dry as he forcibly dragged his eyes from Seungkwan, landing on the boy coming closer. His clothes were ripped, the same as Junhui's had been. On his shoulder was a large red streak from where the arrow was buried. Had he survived after all?

For only a moment, Jeonghan felt happiness with the thought that Junhui never died. He was coming back to join them. He was okay! But sadly, that wasn't the case.

Even after all the boys eventually died that they were with, from Vernon to Chan and Soonyoung, none of them had actually seen a zombified version of themselves. Jeonghan's body went numb. That wasn't Junhui approaching them. It was a monster, just like Vernon had said so long ago before he was attacked and killed. Junhui was a monster now. He wasn't in his right mind.

As he approached, Jeonghan could hear his animalistic snarls, his eyes once a warm and loving brown now turned a foreign white.

"We need to go." Jisoo spoke up, voice shaky. "We need to go now."

Jeonghan wasn't able to speak, just nodding dumbly as Jisoo grabbed his hand and, despite the cracking ice, began pulling him along quickly.

"Seungkwan, come on!" Jisoo cried out, the grip of Seungkwan's hand slipping from his grasp. Seungkwan was just standing there, his eyes fixated on Junhui as he trudged through the snow and out onto the ice with them. 

Jeonghan heard a deafening crack, and he swore that his heart stopped right there. Time was becoming slower and he had no control over his body. By the time Jeonghan could even blink, Jisoo was pulling him from the ice, jumping out into the snow and off of the frozen lake, having found the edge.

Jeonghan grunted as he landed face first, about to sit up, but then there was a scream, a loud cracking noise, and the sound of a splash.

"Don't look."

Jeonghan heard Jisoo tell him, feeling his hand moving to keep him down in the snow. Jeonghan lifted his head and when he did, Jisoo promptly covered his eyes with his hand. Moving to look, Jeonghan leaned to the side, but Jisoo grabbed him and pulled him into a hug, blocking his vision once more.

The splashing stopped, but Jeonghan didn't feel Jisoo's arms loosen around him for what felt like hours after, sitting together in the snow while exchanging body heat and comfort.

When they decided to leave, Jeonghan turned his head to try and look for Seungkwan again, but Jisoo was faster.

"Don't look." Jisoo only repeated, and they then left, hand in hand as they struggled against the snowfall.

 

"Hurry, you can't slow down now!" Jisoo called as he glanced back at Jeonghan, who was running behind him.

Jeonghan was out of breath, he couldn't run anymore. They had been running for such a long time, his legs felt like they were able to give out from under him and his lungs were screaming for air. He so desperately wanted to stop, to be able to take one moment to relax before continuing on, but he knew that they wouldn't be able to. If they stopped now, they'd be dead. They had come so far to lose it all. 

It had been six long and miserable months since the outbreak. Half of the world's population had decreased, and the ones who were alive had to fight to survive or else they'd be dead as well. 

Jeonghan looked back, eyes widening when he saw the group of infected behind them. 

"They're right behind us!" Jeonghan cried out as he turned back around. 

"Run a little faster! Come on, you can do it!" 

Jisoo had always been the faster runner. He was small and athletic, very lean and quick on his feet. Jeonghan envied how much stamina Jisoo had. How was he not tired? They had been basically running all morning without stopping and he wasn't even out of breath.

Jeonghan moved his arm and roughly wiped a drop of sweat that had rolled down the side of his face. He was exhausted but they had nowhere to go. 

"Jisoo!" 

Jeonghan gasped as he felt his body being sent violently down to the floor after tripping on a root that had been sticking up from the ground. Uttering a noise of pain, Jeonghan rolled to a stop, his arms and legs scraping up on the twigs and rocks on the ground. He got a face full of dirt, leaves in his mouth that he promptly began spitting out. 

He was going to die. Jeonghan didn't think he'd be able to get up, his body disobeying him. His mind was too shocked by the sudden pain of falling that it made him paralyzed. 

"Jeonghan!" 

Jeonghan lifted his head from the ground after hearing Jisoo screaming his name. So was that how Jisoo would remember him? After tripping and not getting up, just letting the monsters tear him apart, piece by bloody piece? 

Jeonghan could see the fear in Jisoo's eyes as he unsheathed his machete, watching the horde of infected as they approached, their sights set on Jeonghan. 

The sounds of them were growing louder as they came closer. Jeonghan didn't dare look back, heading the crunching of dead leaves and sticks behind him. 

Clenching his teeth, Jeonghan shut his eyes tightly and braced himself for the pain that was inevitably coming. He had never been bitten before, but he could almost feel the teeth of many infected biting down into his calf. 

But the pain, to Jeonghan's surprise, never came. 

Alarmed when he heard grunting, Jeonghan sat up, his head spinning around. The first thing he saw was Jisoo with his back on the ground, a monster on top of him while it growled and tried to bite at him. Everything felt like it was in slow motion as Jeonghan forced himself to get up, despite the pain in his body from falling. He had to help Jisoo. He couldn't lose him, too.

With a strong leap, Jeonghan jumped and tackled his body against the infected, effectively knocking it off of Jisoo. Jeonghan pushed himself away from the infected as it tried getting up from the ground before reaching frantically for his own knife. The infected's teeth were inches away from his leg before Jeonghan lifted his hand to stab it, but Jisoo beat him to it. There was a loud and sickening crunch as Jisoo's blade scraped through the infected's skull. Even though one of the creatures was dead, they couldn't rest now. 

"We gotta go!" Jisoo said, voice breathless.

Jeonghan nodded after hearing Jisoo, feeling his hand being grabbed. He was forcibly pulled to his feet before he found himself running once more, fingers intertwined with Jisoo's. Jeonghan stumbled a few times when his boots slipped on the leaves, but he tried his best to not fall down.

Jeonghan blindly followed Jisoo as they ran through the thick foliage. Crashing through thorn bushes, having hanging vines smack into his face, making sure to watch his step so he wouldn't fall again. It was all very stressful and painful. 

Jeonghan's arms itched, most likely from ant and mosquito bites. His legs burned because of his scraped knees and the possibility that they rain through some poison ivy. They didn't have time to check over their bodies for injuries, they couldn't afford to stop until they found somewhere safe.

"A building." Jeonghan pointed with his free hand as he trotted a little behind Jisoo, his hand still linked with his. 

"Let's check it out." Jisoo said with a nod, giving Jeonghan's hand a gentle squeeze. 

The run to the building was fairly short. It was fairly big. The sign was overgrown with vines so Jeonghan couldn't make out what it said, but it looked like it had once been a large shopping mall in the past. It appeared to be abandoned, which was good. Jeonghan didn't want to run into any other survivors. 

The human race had turned to violence and animosity after the outbreak. There had been mass killings, public executions, robberies. A week after the outbreak when the government claimed to be working on containing the disease, one of the biggest jails in Korea was destroyed and hundreds of criminals escaped. 

Through the passing months, Jeonghan had seen countless signs that humans were now brutal and ruthless. No one could be trusted. The only person Jeonghan trusted now was Jisoo.

"Gimme a lift?"

Jeonghan turned his head after hearing Jisoo, seeing that he was referring to a broken window above the double doors of the building, which were locked. 

"I'll unlock it from the other side."

Jeonghan walked over slowly, looking at Jisoo with concern.

"Can't we just find another way inside?" Jeonghan asked quietly, tilting his head.

Jisoo sighed and shook his head before shrugging, glancing up at the broken window.

"This is our best chance at getting inside." Jisoo stated, smiling weakly. "I'll be fine, I promise." 

Jeonghan didn't like when they split up. He knew that Jisoo was smart and wouldn't try doing anything stupid that would result in injury, but he couldn't help but worry. Jisoo was like a brother to him, he didn't want to lose him. 

"Okay, but be careful." Jeonghan said with a quiet sigh as he wakes closer, kneeling down. Hesitatingly, Jeonghan moved his hands and cupped them slightly for Jisoo to step in. 

Once his foot was hooked inside, Jeonghan boosted him up. Jisoo grabbed onto the edge of the window before pulling himself up fully. Jeonghan watched as Jisoo then disappeared after jumping through the broken window and into the abandoned mall. 

Jeonghan stops in front of the door anxiously, waiting for them to open. 

"Jisoo?" Jeonghan asked as he knocked, a bit impatient. 

"Yeah, hold on!" Jisoo loudly responded. "I have to get something to break the door handle. It won't budge."

"Hurry!" 

Jeonghan rubbed his arms and turned to scope out the area to make sure nothing was sneaking around behind him. He rested his hand on the top of his knife that was hanging in his belt loop, prepared to wield it and attack if anything came at him.

It was a relief that they outran the infected. They were probably still heading their way, but they weren't anywhere to be seen at the moment and that's all that Jeonghan cared about.

Everything seemed quiet and peaceful, but that was only temporary. A crashing sound erupted from inside the building, and it was awfully loud. Jeonghan jumped, eyes becoming big as he spun around on his heel, looking at the doors, which weren't open. 

"Are you okay?" Jeonghan asked as he pounded on the door, heart beginning to race in his chest when he started hearing the sounds of shuffling and grunting as a struggle broke out inside. "Jisoo!" 

Jeonghan didn't know what to do. Jisoo was in trouble and he couldn't get in to help him! He felt pathetic and helpless. What was he supposed to do?

Fist still banging on the door, Jeonghan could feel his eyes watering with tears. What was he supposed to do? Glancing back up at the broken window where Jisoo had gotten in from, Jeonghan bit his lip. Would he be able to get up there? Not caring, Jeonghan jumped up and grabbed the building, pulling himself up as quickly as he could. Jisoo's life was in danger and he had to hurry.

Once he was up and over the wall, he fell through the broken window, landing with a smack to the floor. He groaned slightly, having hit his head. His vision went blurry for a few moments, blinking his headache away. When he sat up, Jeonghan glanced around, trying to look for Jisoo. 

Jeonghan backed away quickly, staring cautiously through his tears at the figure standing there. It was dark in the building, but when the person moved from the shadows, Jeonghan could see that it was Jisoo. He appeared untouched and alive, Jeonghan wanted to cry. 

"Oh my god." Jeonghan breathed out, grabbing Jisoo and pulling him into a tight hug. 

After letting go of Jisoo, Jeonghan briefly checked him over for any injuries, even as Jisoo feebly claimed that he was fine. He seemed off, but the events of the day would surely wear even the toughest man out.

But then, it hit him. The door wouldn't budge, and so far it didn't appear like there were any other exits. 

"Looks like we'll be trapped for a while." Jeonghan whispered, mainly to himself.

Deciding to search the building, Jeonghan walked alongside Jisoo into the darkness.

Jeonghan listened to Jisoo when he began to tell him what happened as they walked, explaining that an infected had jumped out at him. The loud crash was the sound of a large sign toppling over after Jisoo bumped into it when the infected pushed him. 

Jeonghan glanced at the body of the dead monster, the clean pierced hole from Jisoo's blade jabbed into its head. Jeonghan hoped that there weren't anymore in there. He didn't want to risk getting anywhere near more creatures. Even after the six months that had passed, Jeonghan still wasn't used to them. They terrified him. 

"I need to sit down." Jisoo murmured, and when Jeonghan looked at him, he was rubbing his head.

"Are you alright?" Jeonghan asked slowly, noticing that Jisoo's cheeks were paler than normal. He had only seen Jisoo sick once, and that was on his last birthday.

Seungkwan thought that for Jisoo's birthday, the perfect place to take him would be to a small a sushi place in Daegu. It was either the raw fish or Jisoo had a bad stomach, but as soon as they all made it back to the dorm, he was throwing up nonstop. 

Jeonghan could remember just sitting next to Jisoo on the bathroom floor as he hung over the toilet bowl, sweat and other various liquids dribbling down his face. 

Seungkwan had felt so horrible for inadvertently being the one who made Jisoo sick, so he stayed right next to him all night until Jisoo stopped throwing up. 

Jeonghan woke up that morning in the bathtub, having fallen asleep around midnight while Jisoo was still sick. That was the only time he had ever seen Jisoo pale and sick.

"Yeah, I just need to rest for a few minutes." Jisoo assured with a sweet smile, patting Jeonghan's head lightly. 

Jeonghan made sure to keep an eye on Jisoo as he silently followed him through the mall, which was demolished on the inside. The roof was highly damaged and because of that, rain had gotten in at some point, causing furniture and the floor to begin rotting. It smelled of mold and mildew, which weren't pleasant combinations. 

Jeonghan's eyes were glued to Jisoo as they walked, noticing that the slender boy was beginning to slow down in his walking. Not saying anything, Jeonghan continued to watch, but when Jisoo slowed to a stop, he felt worried. Without a second to waste, Jeonghan lunged forward, grabbing Jisoo after seeing him nearly crumple to the floor.

Jeonghan held Jisoo in his arms as he guided him down to the floor, holding him up by the arm on Jisoo's upper back. 

"Hey," Jeonghan whispered, starting to feel numb. He lightly shook Jisoo. "Can you hear me?"

Jeonghan looked down at Jisoo, seeing that his eyes were barely open. Frantically, he felt Jisoo's forehead but pulled away, in shock. He was burning hot. 

"I'm okay." Jisoo insisted weakly as he tried to sit up, but weakly fell back down. 

"Let's make you more comfortable." Jeonghan said quickly, fingers going straight to Jisoo's jacket, unzipping it before pulling it from Jisoo's body. He folded the sweater out of habit before setting it down on the ground.

"I think I just got scared." Jisoo mumbled, rubbing at his face. "That infected caught me off guard." 

"Just relax, Jeonghan cooed, watching Jisoo with worry filled eyes. "You aren't hurt anywhere, are you?"

Jisoo became quiet, and the sudden silence was alarming to Jeonghan.

Jeonghan looked back at Jisoo, but paused, doing a double take. 

"Your arm," Jeonghan said, voice shaky. "What is that?" 

Jisoo turned his head and raised his arm. On the soft skin of his forearm was a bite mark, deep and bloody. The surrounding skin was painted an angry red with irritation, and it looked puffy and swelled up. 

"I didn't think it would happen so quickly." Jisoo whispered, closing his eyes with a pained expression after Jeonghan applied pressure to the bite mark.

"What do you mean?" Jeonghan asked, voice quivering as he tried his best to keep himself calm. He had a horrible feeling that he knew what the mark was. 

"I was going to tell you, but-" Jisoo's voice trailed off, a pained whimper escaping his lips instead.

"Tell me what?" Jeonghan sobbed out, unable to hold his sobs back anymore. He stared down at Jisoo, hand moving to caress his hot cheek. 

Jisoo weakly smiled.

"I took the bite for you." 

"No," Jeonghan stuttered, shaking his head. "Jisoo, please-"

"The infected that almost bit you when you fell earlier got me instead."

Jeonghan's hand instantly dropped from Jisoo's cheek and he shook his head, staring down at Jisoo with disbelief. 

"Why would you do that?" 

Tears streamed down Jeonghan's cheeks and his bottom lip was trembling. He shook his head again, unable to comprehend the situation at hand. 

"I was selfish," Jisoo grunted. "I didn't want to lose you." 

"But I don't want to lose you, either." Jeonghan cried, closing his eyes as he leaned forward, pressing his face into Jisoo's chest. He sobbed, holding his friend close.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't leave me alone." Jeonghan sobbed, his hand caressing Jisoo's cheek shakily. 

 

The snow continued to come down outside, sprinkling past the broken windows of the mall. The sky was gray and the wind swirled around violently. It was becoming a blizzard outside. The sun made the snowflakes falling from the sky twinkle and glisten like a thousand tiny shining diamonds, elegantly making their way through the dry air before landing on the ground.

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my favorite things that I've written. It's long, so if you've gotten this far, thank you so much for reading.


End file.
